Automotive recyclers are expanding their footprints with new construction to streamline processes and expand operations.
By Sandy Blalock
Building the Future on a Certified Foundation: Daurio Auto Truck Enters Its Next Generation
Daurio Auto Truck
Pueblo, CO
Full-Service Recycler
www.daurioauto.com
For nearly seven decades, Daurio Auto Truck has been built on family, hard work, strong relationships, and a simple but powerful business practice passed down from one generation to the next: take care of the customer and make sure every part is clean, ready to install, and represented with integrity.
That commitment began with the foundation laid by the Daurio family’s father and has continued through Nick and Mike Daurio, who have spent their careers helping grow and guide the business. Today, as Daurio Auto Truck celebrates 69 years in business, the company is entering one of the most important chapters in its history—one focused on modernization, certification, reinvestment, and the leadership of the next generation.
For Nick Daurio, the past few years brought both personal challenges and professional reflection. In 2023, the Daurio family faced the loss of both parents, along with serious health concerns involving Nick’s daughter. At the same time, Nick’s responsibilities with the Automotive Recyclers Association, including his role as incoming president, made it difficult to remain involved in the day-to-day operations of Daurio Auto Truck as he had been for many years.
Through that difficult period, one realization became clear: Daurio Auto Truck could not only continue without his daily involvement—it could thrive.
“I realized that Daurio Auto Truck was bigger than one person,” Nick said. “That was not easy to accept at first, but it also gave me tremendous confidence in Greg, Mike, our staff, and the future of this company.”
That confidence came largely from watching Greg Daurio step forward. In 2022, Greg began taking the reins of the company in a more significant way. As the third generation of the Daurio family, Greg brought a clear vision for the future and a strong understanding of where the business needed to go next. His leadership within the company, along with his service as president of the Colorado Auto Recyclers Association, demonstrated his commitment not only to Daurio Auto Truck, but to the professional automotive recycling industry as a whole.
Mike Daurio, Nick’s brother, remains very active in managing the business and continues to play an important role in the company’s daily operations, long-term planning, and connection to the family values that built it.
“Our father believed in doing business the right way,” Mike said. “That meant taking care of the customer and making sure they received clean, quality, ready-to-install parts. That is still the standard we are building on today.”
Next Level is Worthwhile Work
That standard has shaped every major decision Daurio Auto Truck has made in recent years, including its full commitment to ARA’s Certified Automotive Recycler program.
For Daurio Auto Truck, certification has become much more than a credential or a plaque on the wall. It has become part of the company’s culture. It has helped shape the way the business approaches quality, customer service, employee training, safety, environmental responsibility, inventory control, and regulatory compliance.
The company’s certification journey was not without hard lessons. During an early certification review conducted by Elizabeth Wallace with VET Environmental, the results gave the family a clear understanding of where improvements were needed. The score was difficult to see, but it became a turning point.
“That first review really hit home,” Mike said. “It showed us where we needed to focus. We could have gotten discouraged, but instead we used it as a road map. It helped us understand what kind of operation we needed to become.”
Over time, certification became woven into the way Daurio Auto Truck operates every day.
It influences how parts are handled, how employees are trained, how environmental practices are maintained, and how the company prepares for inspections and regulatory oversight. That commitment has proven especially valuable as the company has undergone inspections by agencies including the EPA, CDPHE, and OSHA.
For Nick, being involved in ARA leadership made certification essential. For Greg, as a leader in Colorado’s automotive recycling association, certification also represented professionalism, accountability, and continuous improvement.
“How could we encourage others in the industry to raise their standards if we were not willing to do the same at home?” Nick said. “Certification helped us look honestly at our operation and build a stronger company because of it.”
Where a Success Mindset Leads
The certified mindset has guided one of Daurio Auto Truck’s most significant investments: a new tear-down and inventory building designed by Greg.
The building represents far more than additional square footage. It is a statement about the future of the company. Daurio Auto Truck needed dedicated space for dismantling and inventory, with each function having the proper flow, tools, equipment, and layout needed to produce the best results.
The design process was intentional. The family visited other recycling facilities, sought input from fellow recyclers, and most importantly, listened to their own staff. They wanted to understand what employees needed in each job role and how the building could support safer, cleaner, and more efficient work.
The planning included details that directly affect daily productivity: wall and ceiling heights, door height and width, bay spacing, toolbox placement, equipment access, lighting, drainage, concrete, and traffic flow around the buildings.
“We did not want to build something and then ask our staff to work around it,” Greg said. “We wanted to understand what they needed to do their jobs better, safer, and more efficiently. Their input helped shape the building.”
One of the most important lessons came from Marty Hollingshead of Northlake Auto Recyclers in Hammond, Indiana, who encouraged the family to think carefully about lighting, especially in the inventory area. Marty had already played an important role in encouraging Daurio Auto Truck to commit fully to certification.
Nick also credits Shannon Nordstrom for more than two decades of dedication in leading and advancing ARA’s certification program.
The new building also led the family to look beyond the structure itself. They evaluated the entire property to improve operational flow, add needed concrete, and ensure proper drainage around the buildings and the entire property. These improvements were not just about convenience. They were about creating a site that could better support the company’s safety, environmental, inventory, and production goals.
“This building is about giving our people the space and resources to do things the right way,” Greg said. “It is about improving the flow of the operation, protecting the quality of the parts, and building a facility that supports where this company is going.”
Unified Team Effort
For Mike, one of the clearest signs of success is the commitment of the staff.
“I really see now the success in what we have been building these last couple of years,” Mike said. “When our staff cares as much as we do and sees our vision for the future of Daurio Auto Truck, that is when you know the work is paying off.”
On May 6, 2026, Daurio Auto Truck celebrated its 69th year in business by hosting an open house and road show that brought together more than 400 guests, just prior to the URG/Team PRP event. The event was more than a celebration of the company’s past. It was also a preview of its future. Customers, vendors, industry partners, staff, family, and friends had the opportunity to see firsthand how Daurio Auto Truck is investing in the next chapter of the business.
The third generation of Daurio Auto Truck is not simply preserving a family legacy. It is building on that legacy with purpose, investment, certification, and a clear vision for the future.
“We are not walking away from our past,” Nick said. “We are building on it. Greg is taking the values this company was founded on and giving them the structure, technology, facility, and team to carry them into the future.”
After 69 years in business, Daurio Auto Truck continues to honor the values that built the company. Yet, under Greg’s leadership, with Mike’s continued involvement and Nick’s confidence in the next generation, the company is also showing what the future of professional automotive recycling can look like when family commitment and certified standards come together.
The road ahead is filled with opportunity, and Daurio Auto Truck is ready for it.
Sandy Blalock is Managing Director of Auto Recycling Advocacy, dedicated to advancing the industry and empowering our auto recyclers with the latest practices, technologies, and events.
Visit the website at https://autorecyclingadvocacy.com
